Legislators have a chance this summer to replace the STAAR test. What they come up with will decide the fate of schools like Dobie Middle School, where low test scores have pushed the Austin district to intervene.
July 2025
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TribCast
TribCast: What’s next for Republicans?
Mark Davis, the dean of Texas conservative talk radio, joins TribCast to talk about the GOP’s outlook for 2026.
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Environment
Feds move to eliminate petrochemical watchdog, putting Texans and others at risk
Amid increasingly intense weather, the Chemical Safety Board is the lone independent agency watching over the Gulf Coast’s petrochemical corridor.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Seven House Democrats making day trip to New Mexico amid redistricting battle
With a quorum break on the table for the minority party as a way to thwart a GOP bid for more congressional seats, members travel out-of-state for a third time.
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Redistricting Texas 2025
Texas Democrats are fundraising to potentially leave the state to block GOP-backed redistricting
The money could be used to cover the $500-a-day fines lawmakers would incur under House rules set to discourage members from absconding after Democrats fled the state in 2021.
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Environment
East Texans condemn Dallas millionaire’s plan to pump 16 billion gallons of their groundwater to other parts of the state — every year
Texas law largely allows landowners to do what they want with the groundwater beneath them, potentially protecting the latest plan to ship water out of East Texas.
Posted inEnvironment
Texas buys land for new state parks that will be developed using $1 billion voter-approved fund
The fund opens a new era of public land acquisition and park development for Texas, which ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita.
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Higher Education
Texas A&M System’s new leader hints faculty senates in state leaders’ crosshairs will stay
In an interview with the Tribune, Chancellor Glenn Hegar also said he would prioritize student outcomes over big projects and skirted questions about diversity and academic freedom.
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Environment
The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from “silent extinction”
Students and naturalists have been sneaking onto private land to extricate threatened native plants: “This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle.”
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Redistricting Texas 2025
Texas House redistricting committee’s Houston hearing draws criticism over absence of maps
Democratic members slammed the process, questioning why hearings were happening before maps were available for review. Chair Cody Vasut said follow-up public hearings will be scheduled once maps are filed.
